94-140.
mvp-comment-81-1
Parodos. Where in the wide world is Heracles, reposing in what continent, or by what narrow sea? Tell us, bright, all-beholding Sun! For our Deianira, for whose hand he fought, wears out her soul in thinking of him on her lonely couch; so ceaseless are the toils that crowd upon him like stormy billows. But God hath hitherto protected him; wherefore let not hope weary, O my queen. No life is without pain, but, by Divine ordinance, grief succeeds to joy and joy to grief. Remember this and hope the best. Zeus cannot leave his offspring to destruction.' The metre beginning with an iambic rhythm passes quickly into dactylo-trochaic, changing again in the epode to iambo-trochaic (with occasional syncope), then to pure iambics, ending with a bacchius followed by three trochees.
94-95.
mvp-comment-82-1
ἐναριζομένα τίκτει] Gives birth to, being despoiled.' The word αἰόλα (like ποικιλείμων in Aesch. Prom. 24) suggests the glories of the starry night. (See Buttmann, Lexil. § 12.) These perish with her as she vanishes, 'Shot through with orient beams.' Cp. ΕΙ. 19, μέλαινά τ᾽ ἄστρων ἐκλέλοιπεν εὐφρόνη: Aesch. Ag. 279, τῆς νῦν τεκούσης φῶς τόδ᾽ εὐφρόνης λέγω. The mention of day succeeding night prepares for the suggestion of hope, infr. 131. κατευνάζει τε φλογιζόμενον] And lays glowing to his rest.' φλογιζόμενον calls up the image of a red sunset.
96.
mvp-comment-83-1
῞Αλιον αἰτῶ] The accusative or third person instead of the vocative, as in Aesch. Prom. 91, καὶ τὸν πανόπτην κύκλον ἡλίου καλῶ· | ἴδεσθέ μ'.
97.
mvp-comment-84-1
πόθι μοι πόθι] The repetition belongs to the later manner of Greek tragedy. The change of construction after πόθι (παῖς not παῖδα) is right. To avoid the hiatus after l. 4 of the antistrophe the second μοι rather than παῖς (see v. rr.) should be omitted. μοι is dative of indirect reference after πόθι ναίει (cp. Ο. C. 137, ποῦ μοί ποτε ναίει), and also supplies the remoter object of καρύξαι.
99.
mvp-comment-85-1
ὦ . . φλεγέθων] Cp. Ο. Τ. 163, 4, καὶ Φοῖβον ἑκαβόλον, ἰὼ |.. προφάνητε. στεροπᾷ is used etymologically, like στέροψ in Ant. 1126 = 'Dazzling light.'
100.
mvp-comment-86-1
ἢ . . αὐλῶνας] Sc. ναίων. ‘Either dwelling amongst winding seas:' i. e. in some island of the Aegean. αὐλών is said to be feminine in poetry, and the reading of Ist hand of L, ποντίας, may therefore be right. Cp. Fr. 503 (Ath. 5. p. 189 D). The change to the dative is occasioned by the addition of κλιθείς on which ἀπείροις is made to depend. The sea most familiar to the Trachinian maidens would be the strait between Euboea and the mainland, but their description might apply equally to any of the narrow seas intersecting the islands of the Aegean: interfusa nitentes .. Cycladas (Hor. Od. 1. 14, sub fin.). κλιθείς with the dative is an expression borrowed from the Homeric κεκλιμένος (e. g. Il. 5. 709, λίμνῃ κεκλιμένος Κηφισίδι). δισσαῖσιν ἀπείροις] 'On one of the two continents,' i. e. somewhere on the seaboard of Europe or of Asia, which are divided by the πόντιοι αὐλῶνες. Others have suggested Thessaly and Epirus, or even Euboea and Thessaly. But cp. Hdt. 4. 118, ἐπειδή οἱ τὰ ἐν τῇ ἠπείρῳ τῇ ἑτέρῃ πάντα κατέστραπται, · διαβέβηκε ἐς τήνδε τὴν ἤπειρον, and Schol. in Aesch. Pers. 181, τὼ δύ᾽ ἠπείρω. Mr. Paley strangely interprets. 'Resting between two mainlands,' as if Heracles were imagined to be on the Hellespont. But for the condensation, cp. El. 1320, οὐκ ἂν δυοῖν ἥμαρτον, ἱ.ε. δυοῖν θατέρου.
101.
mvp-comment-87-1
εἰπέ resumes the imperative implied in αἰτῶ . . καρύξαι. ὦ κρατιστεύων κατ᾿ ὄμμα] Ο thou that bearest the palm for strength of sight!' For κατά, cp. Ο. Τ. 1087, καὶ κατὰ γνώμαν ἴδρις. And for ὄμμα, see
Essay on L. § 54. P. 99
, and cp. infr. 1018, σοί τε γὰρ ὅμμα | ἔμπλεον ἡ δι᾽ ἐμοῦ σώζειν.
103.
mvp-comment-88-1
ποθουμένᾳ . . φρενί] ποθουμένᾳ is either (1) middle, 'With longing soul: '-of such a use of ποθεῖσθαι in the middle voice we have no example, but see
Essay on L. § 31. p. 52
, and cp. Ο. Τ. 1487, νοούμενος, -or (2) passive, With heart oppressed by longings.' This gives a better meaning, but implies a causative sense of ποθεῖν not found elsewhere. Similarly in the Electra, 1065, ἀπόνητοι may be said to imply a causative sense of πονεῖν, 'Το afflict with toil.' (Musgr. conjectures πόνουμένᾳ here.) See
Essay on L. § 53. p. 98
, and cp. Pind. Ol. 10 (11). 93, ἀείδετο δὲ πᾶν τέμενος τερπναῖσι θαλίαις | τὸν ἐγκώμιον ἀμφὶ τρόπον, where ἀείδετο means, Was occupied with song.' In either sense the phrase is applied to Deianira.
104.
mvp-comment-89-1
ἀμφινεική] 'The bride of strife.' She whose hand was once the object of fierce contention is now forlorn. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 669, τὰν δορίγαμβρον ἀμφινεικὴ θ' Ἑλέναν: infr. 527, ἀμφινείκητον ὄμμα νύμφας. The word may also allude to the etymological meaning of Δηιάνειρα ('Object of contention among men'). ἀεί looks forward to τρύχεσθαι.
105.
mvp-comment-90-1
ὄρνιν] The nightingale, poetically imagined as being wakeful for sorrow. Cp. Od. 19. 518 foll., ὡς δ' ὅτε Πανδαρέου κούρη, χλωρηὶς ᾿Αηδών, κ.τ.λ. ἀδακρύτων] Α familiar instance of prolepsis. Never allows to rest the longing in her eyes, nor dries her tears.'
106-107.
mvp-comment-91-1
ἀλλ᾽.. ὁδοῦ] 'Bearing a trembling recollection of her husband and of his far journey.' ἀνδρός is to be taken as genitive of the object with εὔμναστον, 'Keenly mindful of,' as well as with δεῖμα. ὁδοῦ is added epexegetically, as a genitive of respect. ὁδός = ' A journey or expedition,' often includes the enterprise which is the object of the expedition, with its attendant circumstances. φέρουσαν] Cp. Ο. Τ. 93, τῶνδε γὰρ πλέον φέρω | τὸ πένθος, κτ.λ.: 863, εἴ μοι ξυνείη φέροντι, κ.τ.λ.; Casaubon (Anim. in Athen. 549) ingeniously but unnecessarily conjectured τρέφουσαν.
110.
mvp-comment-92-1
ἐνθυμίοις . . ἀνανδρώτοισι] 'On a bed of care, to which no husband comes.' ἐνθυμίοις, Haunted by care or thought' (see Scholia), rather than 'Weighing on the mind' (although some good critics are satisfied with this). The dative is one of place or circumstance (= ἐν), not of cause or reason. Deianira is not worn out with thinking that she wants her husband, but pines with anxiety on her widowed bed. The Scholiast explains ἐνθυμίοις, ταῖς μεριμνητικαῖς, ταῖς πολυφροντίστοις. This meaning of ἐνθύμιος = ἐνθυμίας πλήρης, although singular, is not impossible. Cp. O. C. 240, and see
Essay on L. § 50. p. 94, § 42. p. 80.
ἀνανδρώτοισι, 'Not visited by a husband.' The verbal notion is hard to render, but adds vividness to the idea of bereavement.
111.
mvp-comment-93-1
κακὰν . . αἶσαν] 'Unhappy one (δύστανον), forecasting an evil fortune.' For ἐλπίζουσαν, cp. Αj. 606, κακὰν ἐλπίδ᾽ ἔχων, and note.
112.
mvp-comment-94-1
πολλά, expressing the primary notion of the sentences, belongs in the first instance to the apodosis, in which βιότου πολύπονον is substituted for πάθη or whatever word was at first intended, whereupon πολλά falls into a secondary agreement with κύματα. 'As many as are the waves,' not, 'Like the many waves.'
114.
mvp-comment-95-1
ἀκάμαντος νότου, βορέα, are not simply genitives in regimen, like κύματα παντοίων ἀνέμων, Il. 2. 396, but either (1) genitives of the cause, or (2) genitives absolute = νότου συνεχῶς πνέοντος. For the former (1), cp. Eur. Or. 497, πληγεὶς θυγατρὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ὑπὲρ κάρα. And, for the latter (2), O. С. 1588, ὑφηγητῆρος οὐδενὸς φίλων. ἐν is required by the metre. 'For many as are the waves one sees passing and coming on anew over the wide sea, from the south or else the north wind blowing unweariedly, even so manifold in troubles is the life which, like a Cretan sea, sustains,-ay, and glorifies, our hero of Cadmus' race.'
115.
mvp-comment-96-1
βάντ᾽ ἐπιόντα τε] Not, 'Coming and going,' or, 'Falling and rising, but, '(One) having gone and (another) coming on.' Cp. II. 4. 422, 3, ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἐν αἰγιαλῷ πολυηχέϊ κῦμα θαλάσσης | ὄρνυτ' ἐπασσύτερον Ζεφύρου ὕπο κινήσαντος : 13. 798, (κύματα) πρὸ μέν τ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ αὐτὰρ ἔπ᾿ ἄλλα. For the meaning given to βάντα, cp. Ant. 120, ἔβα, and note. ἴδοι] The change to the subjunctive, in accordance with Homeric idiom, is unnecessary. Ср. О. С. 1172, ὅν γ' ἐγὼ ψέξαιμί τι: Hdt. 2. 93, ἵνα δὴ μὴ ἁμάρτοιεν τῆς ὁδοῦ. And see
Essay on L. § 36. p. 61.
Several editions read ἴδοις, with του in 114. But for the ellipse of tis, see
Essay on L. § 39. p. 72, 3.
οὕτω δέ] δέ ' in apodosi,' as in El. 27, ὡσαύτως δὲ σύ, κ.τ.λ.
116.
mvp-comment-97-1
Καδμογενῆ] Heracles, having been born at Thebes, was claimed as a Theban hero, and therefore of the stock of Cadmus by adoption. τρέφει τὸ δ᾽ αὔξει] (1) ‘Surrounds and also magnifies.' For a similar idiomatic use of τὸ δέ, cp. Thuc. 1. 107, τὸ δέ τι καὶ ἄνδρες τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων ἐπῆγον αὐτούς, ib. 7. 48, τὸ δέ τι καὶ τὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἐλπίδος τι ἔτι παρείχε. The words τὸ δ᾽ αὔξει are διὰ μέσου. It has been thought that τρέφειν and αὔξεις are too near one another in meaning to point an antithesis, and στρέφει for τρέφει has been proposed. For this, more recently, Hense has substituted στερεῖ. But the words are not an application of the simile, as though Heracles was now engulphed and now uplifted by the billow, but express a new thought: and both words have a different meaning in tragic poetry from that which belongs to them in prose. For τρέφειν of the circumstances or surroundings of a life, ср. О. Т. 374, μιᾶς τρέφει πρὸς νυκτός. And, for αὔξειν, Το magnify,' ib. 1090, 1, μὴ οὐ σέ γε καὶ πατριώταν Οἰδίπου καὶ τροφὸν καὶ ματέρ᾽ αὔξειν. The words τὸ δ' αὔξει are added by the Chorus (though logically inconsistent with ἀλλά in what follows), because of their strong wish to suggest cheerful thoughts to Deianira. In this case, the remaining words may be taken in one of two ways, either (α) supposing a slight inversion and alternation of clauses, the order may be πολύπονον πέλαγος βιότου, ὥσπερ Κοήσιον (πέλαγος), 'A troubled sea of life, as it were a Cretan sea.' Or (b) As it were a Cretan sea of troubles that constitutes his life.' (2) Hermann joins τὸ δ' αὔξει βιότου πολύπονον, 'As it were a Cretan sea surrounds Heracles and increases this toilsomeness of his life.' The Cretan sea was wider than the Aegean and no less subject to storms. Cp. Hor. Od. 1. 26. 1, ‘tristitiam et metus | tradam protervis in mare Creticum portare ventis.' For the concrete imagery, cp. Ο. Τ. 194, εἴτ᾿ ἐς μέγαν θάλαμον ᾿Αμφιτρίτας | εἴτ᾿ ἐς τὸν ἀπόξενον ὅρμον | Θρήκιον κλύδωνα.
120.
mvp-comment-98-1
ἀναμπλάκητον "Αιδα δόμων] 'Some deity, never suffering him to fall, keeps him away from the halls of Hades.' For gen. see
E. on L. § 8. p. 11.
121.
mvp-comment-99-1
ὧν] In respect whereof,' to be joined with ἐπιμεμφομένα and repeated with οἴσω. The genitive of respect is here assisted by ἐπί in composition. See
Essay on L. § 54. pp. 99, 100.
ἁδεῖα μέν, ἀντία δ΄ οἴσω] 'I will offer counsel in a pleasant vein, albeit contrary counsel.' The transition from the subject to the object is hardly more violent than in l. 63. δούλη μέν, εἴρηκεν δ᾽ ἐλείθερον λόγον. The only difference is that δούλη is full predicate (= δούλη ἐστί) and ἁδεῖα supplementary predicate (=ἁδεῖα οὖσα). And for ἡδὺς = φέρων ἡδέα, cp. Ο. Τ. 82, ἀλλ᾽ εἰκάσαι μέν, ἡδύς. Musgrave's correction, αἰδοῖα, has since been modified by Blaydes and Hense to δέδοικα, ἔδεισα.
124.
mvp-comment-100-1
ἀποτρύειν] Suffer to wear out,' = ἐἂν ἀποτρύεσθαι. Cp. such expressions as αἴρειν θυμόν = To allow passion to rise.'
E. on L. § 30. p. 52 d.
125.
mvp-comment-101-1
ἐλπίδα τὰν ἀγαθάν] Good hope opposed to the expectation of evil, which might be called κακὴ ἐλπίς, as in Aj. 606.
126.
mvp-comment-102-1
ἀνάλγητα] Lit. 'Things without pain,' i. e. 'A tranquil existence.' For this use of the neuter adj. cp. Aj. 885, σχέτλια γάρ, κ.τ.λ., Ο. C. 537.
127.
mvp-comment-103-1
ἐπέβαλε] Gnomic aorist = 'Doth not send. ἐπιβάλλειν is used as in ἐπιβάλλειν ζημίαν. “The lot which Zeus imposes on mortals is never exempt from grief.' ἐπὶ . . κυκλοῦσιν] Grief and joy come circling round to all, i.e. Grief succeeds to joy and joy to grief. For the tmesis, see
Essay on L. § 18. p. 27.
ἐπί marks succession in time, as in ἐπήλυθον ὧραι. οἷον . . κέλευθοι] 'Like the circling course of the Bear, i. e. As the constellation now is high in heaven, and now all but touches the horizon, so man's life is elevated and depressed. Others, without the comma, read χαράν, 'A circling course like that of the Bear brings round joy and grief to all.'
133.
mvp-comment-104-1
αἰόλα] Glimmering,' or 'Palpitating,' rather than Spangled.' Cp. Εl. 106, ἄστρων ῥιπάς. For the repetition of the same word with some difference of meaning, see
Essay on L. § 44. pp. 83. 4.
135.
mvp-comment-105-1
βέβακε] Sc. ὁ πλοῦτος ἢ αἱ κῆρες. τῷ δ'] (1) ‘And to him,' viz. from whom the sorrow or the wealth has departed, 'comes in turn either rejoicing or loss.' Or (2) To another man.' In this case χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι means, 'To be glad and again (afterwards) 'to lose.' The point, however, is not that sorrow passes from one to another, but rather that sorrows and joys alternate in the same life.
136.
mvp-comment-106-1
ἃ (1) is resumed by apposition in τάδε, cp. Eur. Andr. 1115, ὧν Κλυταιμνήστρας τόκος εἷς ἦν ἁπάντων τῶνδε μηχανορράφος. 'Which truths I bid thee also, who art a Queen, to hold fast in looking forward.' Or (2), with Hermann, 'In respect of which truths (ἃ) I bid thee ever be hopeful regarding this' (τάδε), viz. the fortune and return of Heracles. Cp. Ant. 897, κάρτ᾽ ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω, κ.τ.λ.
140.
mvp-comment-107-1
τέκνοισι .. ἄβουλον] ‘Without providence for his children.' 'Filiis male consulentem.' For the vague plural, cp. 1268, οἱ φύσαντες καὶ κλῃζόμενοι πατέρες, κ.τ.λ. Hermann has remarked that the images chosen in the beginning of this ode all harmonize with the mood of Deianira (the vanishing of beauteous night, the fiery death of day, etc.), just as all cheering topics are suggested towards the end.
141.
mvp-comment-108-1
ὡς ἀπεικάσαι] ‘Το hazard a conjecture.' Hermann lays down the rule that ἀπεικάζω always implies comparison, and he therefore reads ἐπεικάσαι here. But ἀπο- in ἀπεικάζω may have the same force as in ἀπομαντεύομαι, ἀποκινδυνεύω, ἀποδείκνυμαι, of something done (as we say 'right off') on the spur of the moment.
142.
mvp-comment-109-1
πάθημα.. θυμοφθορῶ] There is an opposition between the outward accident and the inward feeling. The one the maidens know, but not the other.
143.
mvp-comment-110-1
μήτ᾽ . . νῦν δ'] The antithesis is strengthened as the sentence grows. 'I would not have you learn by experience, but, as yet, you know nothing of it.' Hence δέ answering τε.
Essay on L. § 36. p. 65 f.
144-145.
mvp-comment-111-1
τὸ γὰρ . . αὑτοῦ, κ.τ.λ.] ‘For youth is nurtured in places of its own where no experience of sorrow reaches.' τοιοίσδε] Hermann missed the correlative of τοιοίσδε, and thought he had found it in the conjectural emendation χώροις, ἵν᾽ αὑτοῦ. Of this and many other attempted changes of this passage, it may be said that they are either too abrupt or destroy simplicity. τοιύσδε, like ὅδε, often in Sophocles refers to what has preceded, and may here be easily referred to ἄπειρος εἶ, 'Such,' i. e. as I see in you. You are ignorant of my sorrow, for youth is so placed' (as to be ignorant of sorrow).
Essay on L. § 22. pp. 35, 6
, and for the emphasis on αὑτοῦ, see
Essay on L. § 9. p. 12 b
, and ср. О. С. 659, 60, ὁ νοῦς ὅταν αὑτοῦ γένηται. For the possessive following a descriptive adjective, cp. O. T. 1462, ταῖν δ᾽ ἀθλίαιν οἰκτραῖν τε παρθένοιν ἐμαῖν. βόσκεται] The image is that of a young plant, as in Aj. 558, τέως δὲ κούφοις πνεύμασιν βόσκου.
145.
mvp-comment-112-1
θεοῦ] Of the sun. Cp. Eur. Alc. 722, φίλον τὸ φέγγος τοῦτο τοῦ θεοῦ, φίλον : Med. 352, εἴ σ' ἡ ᾿πιοῦσα λαμπὰς ὄψεται θεοῦ. The whole passage recalls Od. 4. 566, 5. 478 foll., 6. 43.
146.
mvp-comment-113-1
πνευμάτων οὐδέν] The emphatic repetition of the negative immediately before the verb is idiomatic. Cp. infr. 1013, οὐ πῦρ, οὐκ ἔγχος τις ὀνήσιμον οὐκ ἀποτρέψει. κλονεῖ] The verb is adapted to the nearest subject. No heat offends, no rain disturbs, no wind ruffles it.' οὐδέν is substantive, i. e. πνεῦμα is not to be supplied. No breath of winds, not, No wind of all the winds.' Cp. Ant. 499, 500, τῶν σῶν λόγων . . οὐδέν.
147-148.
mvp-comment-114-1
ἡδοναῖς ἄμοχθον ἐξαίρει βίον ἐς τοῦθ'] 'But it grows up' (lit. rears its life) 'amid delights, knowing not pain, even (f) to that point.' For ἐξαίρει = ἔχει ἐξαιρόμενον, αρ. ἀποτρύειν supr. 125 and note. The word suits with the simile from a young plant, for which, cp. Il. 18. 56, ὁ δ᾽ ἀνέδραμεν ἔρνεϊ ἴσος.
148.
mvp-comment-115-1
γυνή] ‘A woman.' The word refers less here to the marriage-relationship than to the position of a matron.
149.
mvp-comment-116-1
ἐν νυκτί] 'In a night,' i. e. the night of marriage. Cp. Fr. 521. 11, ἐπειδὰν εὐφρόνη ζεύξῃ μία : Eur. Fr. 660, λέγουσιν ὡς μί' εὐφρόνη χαλᾷ | τὸ δυσμενὲς γυναικὸς εἰς ἀνδρὸς λέχος. Musgrave and Hermann join ἐν νυκτὶ φροντίδων, 'Anxiety by night.'
150.
mvp-comment-117-1
ἤτοι . . φοβουμένη] 'Being in fear either on her husband's account or for her children.' This verse has been unnecessarily suspected. The language is not quite accurate, but the meaning is clear, the sentence being continued as if λάβῃ were ἄρξηται ἔχειν.
151.
mvp-comment-118-1
τις] The indefinite pronoun here in the apodosis refers more pointedly to the persons addressed than supr. 148. See
Essay on L. § 22. p. 36. 4.
εἰσίδοιτο] The middle has some such force as 'might see of himself.' αὑτοῦ] The masculine is often used where women are spoken of in a general way
Essay on L § 20. p. 30.
152.
mvp-comment-119-1
κακοῖσιν οἷς] i. e, τὰ κακὰ οἷς. For the attraction, see
Essay on L. § 35. p. 59
, and cp. O. C. 1150, 1, λόγος δ᾽ ὃς ἐμπέπτωκεν ἀρτίως ἐμοὶ .. συμβαλοῦ γνώμην.
153.
mvp-comment-120-1
δή] 'As you well know.'
154.
mvp-comment-121-1
οἷον οὔπω πρόσθεν] Sc. εἶπον, implied in ἐκλαυσάμην.
157.
mvp-comment-122-1
The δέλτος mentioned above (l. 47) contained Heracles' memorandum of the oracle received at Dodona, infr. 1165. In giving this to Deianira before leaving home, he also told her by word of mouth what disposition of his property he desired in case of his death. ἐγγεγραμμένην ξυνθήμαθ'] Having notes inscribed on it. The word ξύνθημα occurs in two places of the O. C., (1) in the singular, of a sign, l. 46, (2) of the record of an agreement, l. 1594. Neither of these meanings exactly suits the context here. A closer parallel is the expression ξυνθήματα κρυπτὰ χαράξας, which appears on an altar in the Museum at Athens, on which certain hierophantic symbols are inscribed. Here it clearly refers to the oracular indication of the doom of Heracles as inscribed on the tablet. The testamentary instructions which are further mentioned were given orally. For the construction of the accusative with the passive verb, see
Essay on L. § 16. p. 236.
Heracles might be said ἐγγράψαι τὴν δέλτον (οι τῇ δέλτῳ) ξυνθήματα.
159.
mvp-comment-123-1
πολλοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐξιών] ‘Though he had gone forth on many labours,' ἀγῶνας is in a similar construction with ὁδύν in l. 155: the labour and the journey to meet the labour being included in one conception. The resumption of πρόσθεν οὐ . . ποτέ in οὔπω, after the intermediate clause, helps to point the antithesis in the following line. Cp. the emphatic repetition in Shaks. Jul. Caesar, 1. 3, 'But never till to-night, never till now, Did I go through a tempest dropping fire." φράσαι in what follows is (1) To show,' (2) 'To explain.'
160.
mvp-comment-124-1
ὡς . . . εἶρπε] 'He went with the mien of one.' ἕρπω is a picturesque word, calling up the act of motion to the eye.
161.
mvp-comment-125-1
ἔτ᾿ οὐκ ὤν] Already doomed.' Cp. Phil. 1217, ἔτ᾿ οὐδέν εἰμι (where there is the same inversion of οὐκέτι).
161-162.
mvp-comment-126-1
ὅ τι κτῆσιν] 'What I must appropriate as my marriage portion; lit. Possession having to do with my marriage.' The MSS. read ὅτι, which may be right, implying that Deianira (knowing the amount of her marriage portion) was to select from the property of Heracles to that amount before dividing the remainder. But ὅ τι agrees better with ἣν in the next clause, and with the situation.
162.
mvp-comment-127-1
ἣν τέκνοις] This may refer, as Schndw. supposes, to the partition of the Peloponnese among the Heracleidae. Cp. the anonymous mention of Eurystheus and Ceyx above, ll. 35, 40, and see Eur. H. F. 462 foll., σοὶ μὲν γὰρ ῎Αργος ἔνεμ᾽ ὁ κατθανὼν πατήρ, κ.τ.λ.
163.
mvp-comment-128-1
ἣν .. νέμοι] What share of their father's land he assigned for distribution to his children (severally). τέκνοις is short for ἑκάστῳ τέκνων. The scribe who wrote μένειν seems to have understood, The part that remained after the marriage portion was taken out.'
164.
mvp-comment-129-1
χρόνον] Víz. a time when it would be known whether the will was to be at once executed or not. τρίμηνον] Sc. χρόνον, to be repeated as accus. of duration with ἀπείη.
165.
mvp-comment-130-1
The nom. ἐνιαύσιος, if right, is occasioned by the addition of βεβώς, and is to be explained, after the analogy of χρόνιος, τριταῖος, etc., like Aj. 217, νύκτερος ἀπελωβήθη: ib. 602, μηνῶν ἀνήριθμος .. τρυχόμενος.
E. on L. § 23. p. 39 €.
Deianira quotes Heracles as telling her what conclusion to draw, if he were absent more than fifteen months. These lines have been suspected, chiefly on account of their tautology, which may be excused by the all-importance of the time to Deianira, and the difficulty which the Greeks felt in defining notions of time.
Essay on L. § 48. p. 91.
τότε belongs to the whole sentence, τῷδε τῷ χρόνῳ to θανεῖν only. Then the decree of fate should take effect either for him to die within that time,' etc.
167.
mvp-comment-131-1
τοῦτο · τοῦ χρόνου τέλος] 'This appointed period of time;' lit. 'This completion in respect of the time.' The conjecture τοῦδε for τοῦτο rather weakens the expression. ὑπεκδραμόντα] 'Having escaped from,' i.e. 'Having passed the danger of.' Burges conj. ὑπερδραμόντα. But the text is more expressive, dimly suggesting the image of a danger to be escaped.
169.
mvp-comment-132-1
τοιαῦτα.. πόνων] 'Such he said was the Heaven-appointed issue of the labours of Heracles.' τοιαῦτα, to which εἱμαρμένα adheres, is the 'cognate subject' of ἐкτελευτᾶσθαι (
Essay on L. § 17. p. 25 c
); i. e. if the expression were turned actively, it would stand thus, τὸν Ἡρακλῆ τελευτᾷν τοιαῦτα (= τοιαύτην τελευτὴν) τῶν πόνων, ' That Heracles should find such an end of his labours.' Cp. Thuc. 2. 13, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ τοῦ πολέμου γνώμῃ καὶ χρημάτων περιουσίᾳ κρατεῖσθαι. The genitive may be taken as one of respect, but is assisted by ἐκ in ἐκτελευτᾶσθαι ('Such issue from his labours'). The present tense is often used in prophecies. Aesch. Prom. 848, ἐνταῦθα δή σε Ζεὺς τίθησιν ἔμφρονα. The wording of the oracle may have been τοιαύτην τελευτὴν ἐκτελευτᾷ Ἡρακλῆς τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πόνων. This is another example of Sophocles' fondness for the passive voice. See
Essay on L. § 31. p. 54.
There is no reason for doubting the genuineness of these two lines, which is confirmed by the Sophoclean character of the construction. ἔφραζε . . ἔφασκε] Sc. ὁ Ἡρακλῆς.
172.
mvp-comment-133-1
δισσῶν ἐκ πελειάδων] Sophocles does not explain the manner in which the oracle at Dodona had been given: but vaguely combines the talking oak (Aesch. Prom. 832) with the prophetic pigeons (Hdt. 2. 55, where, however, of the two birds only one comes to Dodona).
173.
mvp-comment-134-1
ναμέρτεια] 'The true fulfilment of these words as predestined (ὡς χρεών) comes to pass about this time.' τῶνδε ναμέρτεια almost = τάδε ναμερτῆ ὄντα, with some thought of the etymological meaning (νη, ἁμαρτάνω). For τάδε of the prophecy and event in one, cp. Ο. Τ. 901, εἰ μὴ τάδε χειρόδεικτα πᾶσιν ἁρμόσει βροτοῖς. συμβαίνει] For συμβαίνειν of the issue or fulfilment of an oracle, cp. Thuc. 2. 17, καί μοι δοκεῖ τὸ μαντεῖον τοὐναντίον ξυμβῆναι ἡ προσεδέχοντο.
173-174.
mvp-comment-135-1
χρόνου | τοῦ νῦν παρόντος] The dative of time would be too precise and matter-of-fact to express Deianira's meaning, with reference to an emergency, which had not actually arisen. But in using the genitive she does not mean to be indefinite. The fulfilment belongs to the hour that now is here.'
175.
mvp-comment-136-1
So that in the midst of a sweet slumber, I start up in fear and dread.' Cp. Plat. Rep. 1. 330 Ε. καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὕπνων, ὥσπερ οἱ παῖδες, θαμὰ ἐγειρόμενος, δειμαίνει. φόβῳ is a causal dative (with ἐκπηδᾶν). ταρβοῦσαν is added in explanation of φόβῳ. εἰ] To think that it is possible,' cp. infr. 666, ἀθυμῶ δ᾽ εἰ φανήσομαι. For this ethical use of ci, which is frequent in Greek (Od. 21. 253) see
Essay on L. § 28. p. 46 5.
176.
mvp-comment-137-1
εἴ με χρὴ μένειν] 'That I may have to live on.' μένειν has a pathetic force, i.e. to endure, when he is gone. Cp. Phil. 1368, καὐτὸς ἐν Σκύρῳ μένων | ἔα κακῶς αὐτοὺς ἀπόλλυσθαι κακούς.
177.
mvp-comment-138-1
φωτός] φώς appears for the most part to have two senses in Sophocles, (1) rather depreciatory, An inconsiderable person,' eg. O. C. 1018, ἀμαυρῷ φωτί : (2) here and in Aj. 807, ἔγνωκα γὰρ δὴ φωτὸς ἠπατημένη, ‘Α husband.
178.
mvp-comment-139-1
εὐφημίαν νῦν ἴσχε] 'Say now no more.' Deianira's last words were not auspicious, and the Chorus warn her not to continue them for fear of crossing with an evil omen one who seemed to be a messenger of good tidings. εὐφήμει is an injunction to silence, but generally with reference to some unlucky word that has been or is likely to be said. For the form of expression, cp. Phil. 807, ἀλλ᾽, ὦ τέκνον, καὶ θάρσος ἴσχ᾽, κ.τ.λ. Others would explain, 'Speak no more sadly,' for you will now have cause for joy.
179.
mvp-comment-140-1
καταστεφή] O. T. 83, Aesch. Ag. 493. πρὸς χαρὰν λόγων] To be joined with καταστεφή στείχοντα in one phrase. Coming garlanded, like a messenger of joy.' πρὸς χάριν λόγων would merely mean, 'To do the office of a messenger.'
180.
mvp-comment-141-1
πρῶτος ἀγγέλων] This busy-body, who is somewhat like the Φύλαξ in the Antigone, though not quite so mean, has rushed in before Lichas in the hope of getting some reward (infr. 191).
183.
mvp-comment-142-1
ἀπαρχάς] Including the captives, see below, l. 245.
184.
mvp-comment-143-1
Deianira is too much overcome by the announcement to realise it at once. Cp. Phil. 917-19, ib. 1380, where an unwelcome statement is received in the same vacant way: O. Τ. 359, λέγ᾽ αὖθις, ὡς μᾶλλον μάθω : Aesch. Ag. 268, πῶς φής; πέφευγε τοὔπος ἐξ ἀπιστίας.
186.
mvp-comment-144-1
σὺν κράτει νικηφόρῳ] · Bringing with him triumphant conquest.'
188.
mvp-comment-145-1
βουθερεῖ] 'Where the oxen in summer feed.' The summer grass is the harvest (θέρος) of the cattle. This is more picturesque (esp. with ἄτομον λειμώνα following, infr. 200) than Bovθόρῳ, 'Where the oxen leap.'
189.
mvp-comment-146-1
τοῦ] (a) With κλύων, (b) with ἀπῇξα.
190.
mvp-comment-147-1
τοι] 'Το say sooth.' The particle introduces the avowal of his motive. Cp. esp. El. 1468, 9. ὅπως | τὸ συγγενές τοι κἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ θρήνων τύχῃ. The candour of the messenger here resembles that of the Corinthian in O. T. 1005, καὶ μὴν μάλιστα τοῦτ᾽ ἀφικόμην, ὅπως | σοῦ πρὸς δόμους ἐλθόντος εὖ πράξαιμί τι. Cp. also the Old Man in the Electra, when assuming a similar character, 772, μάτην ἄρ᾽ ἡμεῖς, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἥκομεν.
192.
mvp-comment-148-1
αὐτός] 'Lichas himself.' εἴπερ εὐτυχεῖ] Sc. ὁ Λίχας. If all is well with him.'
193.
mvp-comment-149-1
οὐκ εὐμαρείᾳ χρώμενος πολλῇ] 'Being not altogether his own master; i. e. he is detained, not quite of his own free will.
194.
mvp-comment-150-1
Μηλιεύς .. λεώς] The Melian people and the Trachinians are the same in the mind of Sophocles. Cp. his indifference about Calydon and Pleuron in l. 7. The gentile substantive is used for the adjective, as often elsewhere. 'All the Melian folk press round and question him (cp. infr. 314), nor can he advance a step.'
195.
mvp-comment-151-1
κρίνει . . ἔχει] There is no difficulty in the change of subject. See
Essay on L. § 36. p. 65.
196.
mvp-comment-152-1
τὸ . . ποθοῦν.. ἐκμαθεῖν] Το satisfy his longing with full information.' For this use of the active neuter participle, see
Essay on L. § 30. p. 51.
The abstract notion is here put for the object, the desire of knowledge, for the knowledge desired. Cp. Shak. Temp. 1. 2. 176, For still 'tis beating in my mind.'
